Where Outlook stores blocked senders

When you block someone in Outlook, their emails don't disappear — they go to a folder called Junk Email, and Outlook keeps a list of every address you've blocked. You can see both the blocked list itself and the emails that landed there. The blocked list lives in your account settings, separate from your inbox, so you won't stumble across it by accident.

The exact location depends on whether you use Outlook on the web, the desktop app for Windows, or Outlook for Mac. Each version stores the information in the same place logically, but the steps to find it differ slightly. Once you know where to look, you can review what you've blocked, unblock someone if you change your mind, or check whether an email actually went to Junk because of a block or for another reason.

Key Takeaways

  • Blocked emails land in your Junk Email folder, and Outlook maintains a separate list of blocked senders in your account settings.
  • In Outlook on the web, open Settings, then Mail, then Junk Email to see your blocked senders list.
  • In the Outlook desktop app for Windows, go to File, then Options, then Trust Center, then Junk Email to find blocked addresses.
  • You can unblock a sender from the same settings screen where you see the blocked list, and their future emails will go to your inbox normally.
  • Emails in your Junk folder stay there until you delete them, even if you later unblock the sender.

Finding blocked senders in Outlook on the web

Open Outlook in your browser and sign in to your account. In the top right corner, click the gear icon (Settings). From the dropdown menu, select View all Outlook settings. This opens a full settings page with many options on the left side.

Click Mail in the left sidebar, then scroll down until you see Junk email. Click that section to expand it. You'll see a text box labeled Blocked senders with a list of every email address or domain you've blocked. Each address appears on its own line. If the list is long, you can scroll within the box to see all of them.

This same screen shows your safe senders list (addresses that will never go to Junk) and your safe mailing lists. You can add or remove addresses from any of these lists directly by typing in the boxes and clicking Save at the bottom of the page.

Finding blocked senders in Outlook for Windows

Open the Outlook desktop process on your computer. Click File in the top left corner. From the menu that opens, click Options near the bottom. The Options window will open.

In the left sidebar of the Options window, click Trust Center. Then click the button labeled Trust Center Settings. A new window opens with more options on the left. Click Junk Email in that sidebar. You'll see four tabs at the top: Options, Safe Senders, Safe Recipients, and Blocked Senders. Click the Blocked Senders tab to see your list of blocked addresses.

The blocked senders list shows every address you've blocked. To remove someone from the list, click their address to select it, then click the Remove button. Click OK to save your changes and close the window.

Finding blocked senders in Outlook for Mac

Open Outlook on your Mac. Click Outlook in the menu bar at the very top of the screen, then select Preferences. A preferences window opens. Look for the section labeled Junk Email and click it. You may need to scroll down in the list on the left to find it.

Once you're in Junk Email preferences, you'll see tabs across the top. Click the Blocked Senders tab. Your list of blocked addresses appears in the main area. To unblock someone, click their address and then click the minus button (–) at the bottom of the list. Click the red close button to save and exit preferences.

Checking your Junk Email folder for blocked messages

Blocked emails sit in your Junk Email folder, not in a separate location. In Outlook on the web, click Junk Email in the folder list on the left side of your inbox. In the Outlook desktop app, look for Junk Email in the folder pane on the left. On Mac, it appears in the folder list as well. Open the folder to see all emails that Outlook has marked as junk, including those from blocked senders.

Emails in Junk Email stay there until you delete them. If you unblock a sender later, their old emails don't move back to your inbox — they remain in Junk. You can manually move an email back to your inbox by right-clicking it and selecting Move, then choosing your inbox, but this is optional. Most people straightforward leave blocked emails in Junk and delete them periodically.

If you see an email in Junk from someone you didn't block, it landed there because Outlook's spam filter flagged it. You can move it to your inbox or add the sender to your safe senders list to prevent future emails from that address from going to Junk.

Unblocking a sender and what happens next

To unblock someone, go to your blocked senders list using the steps above for your version of Outlook. Find the address you want to unblock, select it, and click Remove (Windows and Mac) or delete it from the text box (web). Click OK or Save to confirm.

Once you unblock a sender, their future emails will go to your inbox normally, following the same rules as any other sender. However, emails they sent while they were blocked remain in your Junk Email folder. You won't see a notification that they've unblocked — their next email will straightforward arrive in your inbox as usual. If you want to see their old emails, you'll need to check your Junk folder and move them manually.

Why an email might be in Junk even though you didn't block the sender

Outlook's spam filter can send emails to Junk without you blocking the sender. This happens when the email looks suspicious to Outlook's automatic system — for example, if it contains many links, comes from an unfamiliar domain, or matches patterns Outlook has learned to recognize as spam. You can move these emails to your inbox or add the sender to your safe senders list.

Another reason an email lands in Junk is if the sender's domain or IP address is on a public spam list that Outlook uses. This is beyond your control, but you can still move the email to your inbox and add the sender to safe senders. If you receive important emails from a sender that keep going to Junk, adding them to safe senders is the most reliable fix.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I block someone without them knowing?

Yes. Blocking is invisible to the sender. They won't receive a notification, and their emails straightforward won't appear in your inbox. They may eventually realize you're not responding, but Outlook doesn't tell them they've been blocked.

If I unblock someone, will they see old emails I deleted from Junk?

No. Unblocking only affects future emails. Old emails you deleted are gone from your account. The sender has no way to know whether you deleted their messages or read them.

Can I block an entire domain instead of just one email address?

Yes. In your blocked senders list, you can enter a domain name like @example.com instead of a specific address. This blocks all emails from anyone with an email address at that domain.

What's the difference between blocking and marking as spam?

Blocking adds the sender to your blocked list and sends their future emails to Junk. Marking as spam does the same thing and also helps train Outlook's filter to recognize similar emails as spam in the future. For most purposes, they work the same way.

Will blocked emails ever come back to my inbox by accident?

No. Once someone is on your blocked list, their emails will always go to Junk. The only way an email from a blocked sender reaches your inbox is if you unblock them first.